


New Beginnings

by orphan_account



Series: Homecoming [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Engagement, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:06:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9341147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Typing up some of the loose ends of Homecoming, including bringing Aerys to justice, Sansa's relationship with Sandor, the future of Jon and Robb's relationship, and Sam and Gilly's baby. Meant to bridge the gap between Homecoming and the planned sequel.





	

“Detective Snow, can you tell the grand jury why you never came forward before now?”

Val’s voice sounded cool and detached, but Jon knew that she was just as invested in this case as he was. She had prepped him relentlessly for this testimony. She had made very clear to him that she was putting her career as a prosecutor on the line for this case. Though the exhumed bodies of Rhaella and Viserys Targaryen would go a long way in getting Aerys indicted, Val had stressed that his recounting of that night was _vital_ to the case.

“I was afraid no one would believe me. I was a foster kid. I wasn’t used to people caring what I said,” Jon explained, trying to keep his emotions bottled up without sounding emotionless, which wasn’t the easiest of tasks. “And if I said something and still had to go home with him afterwards, I knew he would hurt me.”

“Did he hurt you often?” Val prompted, voice softened just enough so as not to seem completely heartless to the grand jury. Val, Jon knew, was a master at keeping her emotions in check.

“Yeah,” he admitted, swallowing thickly. _He_ was far from a master, unfortunately, and this was a topic that he had always avoided talking about too much. “I was physically abused by the Senator from the day I moved in with the Targaryens.”

“Thank you, detective,” the prosecutor said, giving him a small smile. “You may step down.”

Jon let out a relieved breath as he grabbed his crutches and pushed himself out of the chair. After over two months on the crutches, he was able to move fairly fast on them, a fact he was grateful for as he exited the room. He eased down in a bench in the hallway, stretching his leg out in front of him and groaning as the tightness in his thigh muscles. The witness stand had been cramped, and though grand jury testimony was always shorter than trial testimony because there was no cross-examination, it was still long enough to make his healing injury ache.

Physical therapy was not going to be fun later, he thought with a grimace.

It would be a while before Val was finished and they could discuss how it went. She still had to instruct the grand jury on the law. He pulled his phone out, deciding that he would use the time to call Robb.

“How’d it go?” Robb asked as soon as he answered the phone.

Jon sighed. “I think it went well. I’m not really sure. Val will have a better idea when she comes out. Usually, getting an indictment is easy, but in high-profile cases like this, it’s hard to tell.”

Though Val had been extremely careful to keep the case against Aerys from making its way into the news, but the grand jurors would be very aware that an indictment of a former U.S. Senator was going to make headlines.

“Whatever happens, Jon, I’m proud of you,” his boyfriend told him seriously. “I know this isn’t easy for you.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” he replied, as much of a reminder for himself than it was for Robb. If the grand jury indicted, he would have to face Aerys. Up until this point, the former senator had been kept ignorant of the investigation against him. Once he was indicted, that would quickly change.

It _was_ the right thing to do, though. Viserys and Rhaella deserved justice. The statute of limitations might keep Jon from getting justice for what was done to him, but there was no statute of limitations for murder.

“I wish you would have let me be there for you,” Robb said.

Jon rolled his eyes. They had gone over this last night. “You wouldn’t have been able to be present when I testified. Grand jury proceedings are closed.”

“I could have been there with you before you went in,” he pointed out. “And I could be there for you _now_.”

Jon couldn’t deny that Robb’s presence might have calmed his nerves before he testified, or that he didn’t wish that he was there with him _now_ to reassure him, but he had pulled Robb away from work enough with his being injured. 

Not that Robb _had_ to be the one to take Jon to and from physical therapy, no more than he _had_ to take off the three weeks after Jon had been released from the hospital. Jon was grateful that he _did_ , but his recovery process had really driven home to him the fact that he had a rather large support system now that he had a family again.

“I’ll need you more if there’s a trial,” Jon replied.

“I’ll be there for you,” Robb promised. “Every step of the way.”

Jon smiled, opening his mouth to say something before the sound of the door opening startling him. He looked up to see Val exiting the room, a pensive look on her face. “Robb, Val just stepped out. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“I’ll pick you up from the station at three for PT,” he told him.

Jon blanched at the reminder of his physical therapy session that afternoon, but knew it was unavoidable. “Sounds good. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“How’d it go?” Jon asked as he ended the call.

Val twisted her beautiful face into a look of distaste. “I don’t like having so little evidence to give the grand jury,” she informed him. “Especially in a high profile case like this. We should have gotten your foster siblings to fly in to testify.”

“Dany’s busy planning her wedding. I don’t want them to worry about this until they have to,” Jon said adamantly. Robb was the only one that knew they were trying to build a case against Aerys. “If we don’t get an indictment, can we try again with their testimony?”

“My boss won’t like it,” she said unhappily. “But there’s no rule that we can’t try again with a different grand jury. I’d rather not do that, though. Hopefully, the forensic evidence from the bodies will be enough to show the jurors that it was murder, and your testimony will be enough to give probable cause that it was Aerys. It won’t be an airtight case at trial, though,” she warned. “Your testimony will be crucial, and so will Dany’s and Rhaegar’s.”

Jon nodded, even if he felt a bit sick. “I understand.”

“Well,” she said, glancing at her watch. “It may be a while before a decision is made. You don’t have to stick around. I’ll call you once they make a decision.”

“Thanks,” he said, using his crutches to push himself to his feet. It was getting close to noon, and his stomach was beginning to rumble for food. It didn’t help that he hadn’t eaten anything that morning because of his nerves. His leg still cramped a little bit, but it wasn’t far to the nearest subway station.

Not that he had to worry about walking. As soon as he had made it to down the ramp outside to the sidewalk, he couldn’t miss Robb leaning casually against his SUV, parked in a metered spot next to the handicapped spaces.

Jon shook his head as he hobbled closer. “You aren’t supposed to be here,” he said in a mock-stern voice and unable to keep a fond smile from spreading over his face.

Robb shrugged unapologetically. “I thought I’d surprise you and take you to lunch. Looks like I have pretty good timing.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t been waiting out here for at least an hour,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. “Did you even go into work?”

“I did,” he told him before closing the distance between their lips once more before stepping back and opening the door for Jon. “If I hadn’t, I would have waiting inside with you whether you liked it or not. But Uncle Benjen needed me for about an hour earlier, and you were already testifying when I got here. Figured I would surprise you.”

“Well, you did,” Jon told him as he climbed into the car. “Though I really shouldn’t have been surprised.”

“Well, _I_ was surprised that I didn’t have to pry you away for lunch before a decision was made,” Robb said with a laugh, closing the door for Jon before walking around to his side and getting in. “So? Did they indict?”

“We don’t know yet,” he answered. “Val said she’d call.”

“Now I’m really surprised,” he said as he backed out of the parking spot.

Jon sighed. “I didn’t see a point in staying and worrying. I don’t even know what I’m hoping for,” he confessed. “I want Aerys to face justice but… I don’t know if I can face him if it goes to trial.”

“You _can_ ,” Robb said with certainty. “I know you can.”

“Thanks,” he said with small smile.

He grinned. “Anytime. Now, how about we get some Thai takeout and go back to the apartment to cuddle on the couch until your PT?”

“I was going to go into work for a couple of hours…” Jon said hesitantly, though he couldn’t deny how good Robb’s suggestion sounded.

“Does your boss expect you in?” Robb asked, with a knowing smirk that said he already knew the answer.

“No,” he admitted.

“Then you don’t have to go in,” he said smugly. “And come on. How much paperwork can you really do in a couple of hours anyway?”

Jon shook his head in defeat. “Fine.” To tell the truth, he could use a couple of hours of rest before physical therapy.

Robb called in their order as they headed back to the apartment, and they stopped by the restaurant on the way to pick it up. As promised, Jon was soon pressed against Robb’s side on the sectional, injured leg stretched out and elevated.

They had finished their food and was watching some home remodeling show when his cell rang. Jon’s heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was Val and took a deep breath before answering, “Snow.”

“They indicted,” Val told him without preamble. “Now comes the hard part, Snow.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” he said, before ending the call. He stared dumbly at the phone as he tried to process how he was feeling. He was happy, of course, but he also felt a little nauseated by the fear and anxiety starting to press in.

He was going to have to face his foster father. He knew it wasn’t rational to be afraid of Aerys now. He was a grown man, and though his current injury limited him, he could still protect himself from a man in his sixties.

“You okay?” Robb asked after letting the silence stretch a little bit.

Jon loved him for that. He was sure that his boyfriend was dying to know what the grand jury had decided, but his first question was directed at Jon’s well-being.

“Yeah, just… They indicted,” he answered, twisting his head around look at Robb. “I’m glad but…”

“We’ll get through this,” Robb assured him, pressing his forehead to Jon’s temple. “Together.”

Something eased in him at the reminder that he wouldn’t be facing this alone. It didn’t completely alleviate his apprehension, but it certainly helped.

“Thanks,” he said, before carefully lowering his leg to the floor and grabbing his crutches. “I better change before PT.”

Robb let him slip out of his arms without protest and let him hobble to the bedroom without following him or offering to help. Jon was grateful. Though he appreciated his boyfriend’s support, he needed a moment alone to gather his thoughts.

He wasn’t alone anymore, he reminded himself as he forced his legs into a pair of sweatpants. Not only did he have Robb, but he had all the Starks. And he had Dany and Rhaegar. He had _support_. He wasn’t a scared kid anymore with no one to turn to.

Aerys Targaryen could not intimidate him anymore.

Not like he had when he was younger, at least. Men as powerful as Aerys, though, could be resourceful.

Jon blanched at the thought and pushed it away. He couldn’t think about that right now. He’d drive himself crazy thinking about all the different things Aerys could do to make his life miserable.

He shoved his t-shirt over his head roughly, frustrated that his thoughts kept taking a dark turn. This was supposed to be a _good_ thing. Aerys was finally going to face justice. Sure, there was always the risk that he would be acquitted, but they got the case past the grand jury. It was a _victory_. A small one, but a victory all the same.

He had to remember that.

Victory or not, though, nothing he told himself stopped him from dwelling on everything the indictment meant during his physical therapy session.

Mikken, his therapist, was thoroughly done with him by the end of it. “Alright, we can call it a day,” he told him after his cool-down stretches. 

Jon nodded, pushing himself upright on the bench he was using, slouching forward and feeling more wrung out than usual. He didn’t even realize Robb had walked over until a towel was dangled in front of his face. He took it with an exhausted smile. “Thanks,” he said, wiping the perspiration from his face.

“Well, despite your head definitely not being in the game today,” Mikken said, giving him a reproachful look that Jon had the decency to look ashamed at. “You’re making good progress.”

Jon snorted bitterly. “If I were making good progress, I’d be off the crutches already. The original estimate was four to six weeks.”

“The bullet did a lot of damage to both your bone and your muscles,” his therapist explained patiently. “That type of trauma takes a lot of healing. Keeping you on crutches so long was necessary to make sure that that healing wasn’t compromised. You’ll be happy to hear, though, that I want you to start trying to walk small distances without the crutches. If you continue working hard at your therapy, you’ll be fully self-reliant and running around catching the bad guys again in no time.”

Jon saw Robb make a face at that. “Don’t worry,” he assured him. “Even after I’m all healed up, I’ll still be riding the desk until I can get my stamina back up to pass the fitness test and be re-certified for field work.”

His boyfriend relaxed a bit at that, but Jon could tell he was still uneasy about the prospect of him returning to the field. He couldn’t do anything about that, though. He loved Robb but being a detective was who he was. 

“Does this mean I can have caffeine and alcohol again?” Jon asked Mikken hopefully. His therapist had been adamant at the beginning of his therapy that consuming either could impede his healing, and Jon hadn’t had them for over two months. The caffeine, he found, was way tougher to kick than the alcohol.

Mikken gave him a stern look. “Not while you’re _my_ patient.”

He wasn’t surprised by the answer and took it without argument. He winced a bit as he pushed himself to his feet, his right thigh after his PT. He’d need to ice it when he got home.

“You know, being a homicide detective is not usually that dangerous,” he told Robb in the car as they were driving back home. “It’s very unlikely that I’ll be seriously injured again. You don’t have to worry.”

Jon wasn’t entirely sure how truthful his words were, but he knew Edd and Tormund hadn’t been shot as detectives. Neither had Yoren. Most injuries in the line of duty occurred to beat cops, as they were usually the first ones on the scene and in the heaviest line of fire. 

“I’m going to hope and pray that you aren’t ever injured again,” Robb replied, reaching out to cover Jon’s hand with his own. “I’d never ask you to give up the career you love, but you can’t ask me not to worry. I’d worry about you no matter what you did though, even if you were something boring like an accountant or something.”

“Well, I probably _would_ be in danger if I were an accountant. I’m terrible at math. My clients would kill me,” he quipped, eliciting a laugh out of Robb.

He didn’t try to convince Robb that he didn’t have to worry about him. He knew it was pointless. Robb was right. No matter what he did, his boyfriend would worry about him. Just like Jon would always worry about Robb, even if he didn’t work in security. It was just a side effect of loving someone.

“I’m sure it’ll be nice to be able to be a bit more independent,” Robb commented as they pulled into the parking garage of the apartment building.

“Yeah,” Jon said, though secretly he was a little apprehensive. 

Not that he wasn’t dying for a bit more freely at this point, but they hadn’t really discussed what would happen once Jon recovered enough to live on his own again. He knew they had discussed moving in together before he got shot, but they had agreed that they would take a little bit of time before taking that step. Now that his injury didn’t necessitate him living with Robb, were they supposed to go back to taking a bit of time?

It seemed silly considering they had been living together for over two months, but he still had his own apartment, and Robb had never broached the idea of making their current living situation permanent.

He knew he should just _talk_ to Robb about it. His boyfriend probably wouldn’t mind their situation becoming permanent. Even if Robb wasn’t completely on board with them officially living together, which Jon was fairly certain he _was_ , he would sacrifice his own feeling and agree if only to make Jon happy.

But he didn’t really want living with him to be a sacrifice.

He knew that they had to talk about it soon, particularly since the lease on his apartment ran in a couple of months and he would have to give his landlord a month’s notice if he didn’t want to renew.

He’d wait a little longer, he decided as they rode the elevator to the penthouse. With Sam’s and Gilly’s sentencings next week, there was no use worrying about their living arrangements when they had plenty of time to figure it out.

Robb led him straight to the couch as soon as they were in the door.

“I need a shower,” he protested, knowing he probably reeked with the sweat he had worked up during therapy.

“You need ice for your leg,” Robb replied. “The heat from the shower would just aggravate the muscles if you don’t ice it for a bit first. Now, strip off your pants and take your brace off while I get an ice pack.”

“You just want to see me in my underwear!” Jon teased, but did as he was told. 

Robb leered playfully at the sight of him in his boxer briefs as he returned with the ice pack. Much to Jon’s disappointment, though, he just carefully elevated his leg before pressing the ice to his skin and settling down behind Jon and slinging an arm over his shoulders.

Jon sighed, mostly in contentment but admittedly with a little annoyance. Because of the location of his injury, his boyfriend had been hesitant to touch him sexually for fear of aggravating the healing process. Jon couldn’t be too upset about it, though, not when he knew it was only done out of concern for him.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me,” he said, giving Robb a fond smile as he relaxed against him.

“Anytime,” he promised. 

 

#

 

Yoren congratulated him as he settled down at his desk the next day. Jon gave him a weak smile, his feelings still a jumble when it came to Aerys’s indictment.

“I still say it’s the wife,” Tollet said as he walked in with Tormund a couple of hours later, breaking Jon out of his worry-motivated concentration. “It’s always the wife.”

“It’s not _always_ the wife,” Hornblower replied in exasperation, rolling his eyes at Jon in amusement.

“It’s _usually_ the wife,” Edd retorted. “Or the husband. Or the boyfriend or girlfriend. Honestly, relationships are more likely than anything to get you killed.”

“Sounds like someone is bitter about being single,” Jon quipped, drawing a laugh from Tormund and a scowl from Tollet.

“How are those cold cases coming, Snow?” Edd asked pointedly. “Find anything interesting for us to investigate while you sit on your ass?”

Jon made a face. “No,” he said but pushed a file their way. “But I may have found something for you in your victim’s joint checking account. I hate to agree with Tollet, but with the large amounts of cash the wife has been taking out, it looks like he may be right.”

Tormund took the folder and frowned over the numbers that Jon had highlighted. “Damn. I hate it when Edd is right.”

What Tollet said in reply, Jon didn’t know, as he was distracted by his phone ringing. 

“Snow,” he answered automatically, despite knowing from the caller ID that it was Sansa.

“Jon, hi! It’s Sansa,” she said unnecessarily. “Are you free for lunch?”

He glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it _was_ nearly lunchtime. He guessed that he was more caught up in his worries that morning than he had thought. “Sure. Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the diner on the corner near the station?” Sansa suggested, instantly sending up warning flags in Jon’s head. It had become commonplace since his injury for one Stark or another to drag him away from the station for lunch. That was one good thing about being on desk duty—regular hours which meant regular lunches. 

None of them _ever_ suggested the diner near the station, though, mostly because Jon had warned them that the food was… less than appealing. He was fairly certain that the only people who ate at that diner were cops that had no time to go any place further. 

The fact that Sansa was suggesting it _now_ , then, was troubling.

“Are you alright?” he asked seriously.

He heard her sigh over the phone. “Yes. No. Yes,” she settled on the answer finally. “I just want to go someplace where I know no one who knows me or Sandor will be.”

Jon frowned at that, pinching his brow as he realized what this was about. Sandor Clegane. Just the name made Jon feel guilty, hating keeping a secret like this from Robb. This wasn’t like other things he knew from work. This was about Robb’s _sister_.

And now Sansa wanted to involve him even further.

“Sansa…”

“Please, Jon,” she pleaded before he could say anything else. “I just… I have to talk to someone. I’m going to tell everyone soon but… I just want to talk it out with someone first.”

He relented at that. He understood how difficult it was to tell the people you loved that you had been keeping secrets from them, especially when those secrets involved someone hurting you.

Which is what led him to sitting across from Sansa at a table with a peeling and faded mint green formica tabletop, eating a soggy burger with an order of bland fries while Sansa poked at her wilted salad.

“You always knew you’d need to tell them if you wanted your relationship to last,” Jon said, deciding that one of them had to be the first to broach the subject.

“I didn’t want to tell them because I _had_ to, though,” she said bitterly, stabbing at a tomato. “This shouldn’t be so complicated. I should be _happy_ right now. I love Sandor and he loves me.”

“Why do you have to tell them?”

Sansa looked up with watery blue eyes and gave him a weak smile. “I’m pregnant.”

Jon had thought it might be something like that. He sighed heavily at the confirmation, though. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to keep it,” she replied, fierce determination in her voice. “Sandor and I were already talking about moving into together. This is just another reason to.”

“So what’s the problem?” he asked, though he already had his suspicions.

She bit her lip before looking down. “My family. What are my parents going to say when they find out I’m dating an ex-con and am pregnant with his baby? They’re not going to understand unless I tell them about Joffrey and I…” Her voice broke at that.

Jon understood more than she knew. “It’s not easy to tell to the people who love you that you’ve been abused. It’s not easy to admit that it happened to you, and it hurts to see them blaming themselves.”

Sansa stared at him with wide eyes. “Jon…”

“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it,” he continued, ignoring the comprehension dawning in her eyes. “The longer you keep it from the people you love, the more it feels like lying.”

“Who?” she asked him, seeming to forget about her own situation for a moment.

“My foster father,” he answered with a grim smile. “I never told anyone until a couple of months ago. Telling Robb was… hard,” he settled on the word, though it felt like that word was inadequate. “But it also was a relief.”

“But you didn’t tell the rest of us,” she pointed out sadly.

“No, but I had planned to tell you all next week when Rhaegar and Dany come for the sentencings,” Jon replied. “And I’m dreading it, but I know they deserve the truth.”

Sansa sighed. “You’re right. My mother is going to take it hard, though. She’s already feeling guilty that she missed Aunt Lysa’s abusing Robyn.”

“She’ll be happy that you’ve found someone despite Joffrey,” he told her gently, not entirely sure if it were true or not. Clegane had many qualities that would make both Catelyn and Ned frown at the idea of him dating Sansa, let alone having a baby with her. 

“Will you be there with me when I tell them?” she asked with pleading eyes.

He snorted humorlessly. “I doubt my presence would soften the blow for your mother.”

Jon still was far from sure where he stood with Catelyn Stark. She definitely approved of his relationship with Robb, and she had helped him after he was released from the hospital as much as any of Robb’s other family members, but Jon still didn’t think she particularly liked him. She was trying for Robb’s sake, and that was all Jon could really ask for.

“What about with Robb?” she suggested. “I could tell him first and you could both be there when I tell Mom and Dad. Robb could even meet Sandor first and be able to tell them how good a person he is.”

Assuming he _was_ a good person, Jon thought privately. Clegane had been Sansa’s protector after Joffrey. It wasn’t too big of a stretch that Sansa might be a bit blinded by hero worship. It probably didn’t help that their relationship had stayed so long in a bubble of secrecy.

He had a sudden vision of him and Robb on a double date with Sansa and Clegane and barely suppressed a wince. That would be an awkward dinner, with Robb glowering at a man ten years his senior and remaining sullenly quiet the whole time. It would be even worse once Jon told him that he had known about the relationship for over two months and hadn’t told him.

“I’m not sure Robb will be any more accepting than your parents would be,” he warned.

“Can’t you talk him around?” Sansa begged.

Jon didn’t know how to admit to her that _he_ wasn’t really all that accepting of the situation. He had been neutral when she had first told him, but that was because it was in the context of an investigation. Since then, he had been avoiding thinking about it, but he _had_ looked into Sandor Clegane’s background a bit more. What he had found had been far from reassuring.

“I can warn him so he isn’t blind-sided,” he said. “It’ll be worse if he’s surprised. And I would really like to not keep any more secrets from him.”

Sansa looked relieved at that. “You’d tell him for me? Everything?”

It wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have with Robb, but he could see the hope shining in her eyes. It was going to be difficult enough to come clean to her parents. He supposed that he could make things a bit easier by telling her brother.

He spent the rest of the day wondering how he was going to broach the topic with Robb. In the end, he decided that he would just do it quickly, like ripping off a bandaid.

“I’ve got something I have to tell you,” Jon told Robb as soon as he slid into the car after work. He carefully did not look at Robb, not wanting to see his face when he realized Jon had kept yet another secret from him.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Robb asked in trepidation.

“Probably not,” he admitted. “It’s about Sansa.”

“Sansa?” he repeated, confusion evident in his voice.

“Yeah. About something that came up in the investigation a couple of months ago,” Jon explained with a sigh. “I should’ve told you before, but I promised her that anything she told us would remain confidential.”

“I get it,” Robb assured him before asking him a little nervously, “It’s not really bad, is it?”

Jon still didn’t look at him. Even if he said he understood, he might be a little less forgiving when he found out how big it was. “When Sansa was brought in for suspicion, it was because we found out she had been dating someone with a criminal record,” he said instead. “She told me that she met him through Tyrion Lannister, who hired him to protect her from Joffrey after she left him.”

“Protect her from… _Fuck_!” Robb ground out. Jon dared a peak at him and flinched at the tense anger in his body as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “He abused her. That fucking _asshole_ hurt my little sister!” He kept quiet, letting Robb process the information. He wouldn’t know what to say anyway. He was caught off guard when Robb suddenly turned his head to look at him, a terrible fear in his eyes. “Why are you telling me now? Has something happened? Is Sansa alright?”

“She’s fine,” he was quick to reassure him. “She just wants to come clean to everyone, and she wants you to meet her boyfriend.”

Robb relaxed a bit at that. “She must be getting serious with him,” he mused. “What do you know about him?”

“His name is Sandor Clegane,” Jon answered without hesitation, having wanted to talk to someone about Clegane for a long time. “He’s only got a few petty property crimes on his record, but that’s more because no one has been able to pinned anything else on him. I’m afraid that he might have Sansa fooled about who he really is.”

His boyfriend scowled at that. “Sansa always was one to see the best in people. I’m both happy and disappointed that Joffrey didn’t change that. Do you think Clegane is as serious about the relationship as she is?”

“Well, he seems to be. They’re talking about moving in together.” Jon hesitated for a moment before sighing and confessing, “She’s pregnant, Robb.”

Robb sucked in a deep breath and held it as he turned onto their street before releasing it. “Well, that’s pretty serious,” he remarked in a brittle voice. “And what? She asked you to tell me so that I wouldn’t get mad?”

Jon snorted. “I think it was more that she didn’t want to face your anger head on. I agreed because I didn’t want to keep the whole situation a secret from you anymore.”

“Well, I’m not really thrilled, but I can’t really be mad at you for just doing your job, can I?” Robb said bitterly as they turned into their garage.

He winced. “You can be mad at me if you want,” he replied evenly, looking down at his lap once more. “I wouldn’t blame you.”

Robb deflated as he parked the car. “No, I can’t be mad at you. None of this is your fault.”

“It might be,” Jon pointed out even as his mind screamed at him to shut up. “If you had known two months ago and managed to talk Sansa out of the relationship, she might not be pregnant now.”

“As if Sansa ever listened to me when it came to boys,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. “Now come on,” he said, opening his door and forcing a smile. “Let’s get inside. I’ve got some things I want to talk to you about that have absolutely nothing to do with my sister.”

Jon followed him out of the SUV with a frown, suddenly nervous. Robb’s smile became a bit more genuine as they entered into the apartment and he pressed Jon into a chair at the dining table, making sure his leg was comfortably prompted up before moving around the counter into the kitchen. He came back with a pan of lasagna before going back a couple of more times for plates, silverware, and drinks.

“I thought about doing this with a bit more romantic flair,” Robb told him as he served both of them some lasagna and took the seat next to Jon. “But I didn’t want to pressure you. Because it’s totally okay for you to say no. I know it’s probably too soon but I have to ask. You have to know that I am ready and willing to wait however long you need.”

Jon stared at him with a soft smile, sure that Robb was going to ask him to make his moving in with him official and relieved that he wasn’t going to have to bring it up. He should have known that Robb was on the same page as him. 

“I’ve been toying with the thought for a while,” Robb continued. “I know we talked about moving in together before…” He didn’t finish the sentence, obviously not wanting to think about Jon getting shot. “Anyway, I realized that after living with you for these past two months that it isn’t enough for me. I want it all.”

He frowned at that, unsure of what Robb meant by that, but it became pretty clear when Robb slipped off of his chair and down to one knee.

“I didn’t get a ring,” he said, eyes locked with Jon’s. “I thought we’d get those together if we decided we wanted them. But Jon, this is forever for me. I’ve wanted to marry you since I was eleven years old, and even when I didn’t know where you were, I don’t think I ever saw myself marrying anyone but you. I don’t want to just live with you. I want to be your husband, and I want you to be mine. You can say no, but I would really love it if you said yes.”

“Robb,” he managed to choke out as he struggled to wrap his head around the moment. He hadn’t expected this. Robb waited patiently for him as he stared down at his boyfriend. 

He wanted to marry Robb. Of course he did. There was nothing in the world he wanted more. But it was so soon. Too soon. What would Robb’s parents say? Would people assume he was just marrying Robb for his money?

He opened his mouth to explain to Robb that they couldn’t, that getting engaged now was _crazy_ , but he stopped as he saw the hope dimming in Robb’s eyes a bit. Did he really care about what anyone else thought when what mattered most was what _Robb_ wanted? What they _both_ wanted?

Jon had nearly died two months ago. Robb had almost died a few years ago. Wasn’t that enough to show them that life was short and they should take their happiness while they still could?

“Yes,” he said, a grin spreading across his face as Robb’s eyes widened before he laughed with joy, surging up to catch Jon’s mouth, the kiss a little awkward as neither of them could stop smiling. Jon laughed in happiness as they broke apart only to lean his forehead against Robb’s. “I would be honored to be your husband,” he said with a fond smile.

“I love you so much,” Robb told him breathlessly before leaning in for another kiss.

“Put the food up,” Jon ordered as they broke away. “I don’t care how much my leg aches after, you are taking me to bed and we’re going to have some engagement sex.”

Robb gave him a hasty kiss before obeying without argument. Jon, it seemed, wasn’t the only one who missed the more physical aspects of their relationship.

tbc…


End file.
